Vertically adjustable shelving assembly



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United States Patent O 3,422,775 VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE SHELVING ASSEMBLY Sven Erik .lohnsson, Akaregatan 8, Varnamo, Sweden Filed Mar. 16, 1966, Ser. No. 534,687 U.S. Cl. 108--109 Int. Cl. A47b 57/20; A47b 96/12; A47b 9/00 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to supporting assemblies of the type having vertically adjustable bridging or shelf means to be carried by supporting means arranged in vertical rows in one or more vertical walls, uprights or posts.

The primary object of the invention is to provide improved supporting assemblies which permit convenient, quick and secure mounting and dismounting of the bridging or shelf means and easy placing of said bridging or shelf means in various positions between the uprights or posts.

For the realization of this and further objects the invention relates to a supporting assembly comprising, in combination, supporting means including at least one pair of opposed and horizontally spaced substantially vertical walls, bridging means extending substantially horizontally between said walls, mounting means comprising at least one vertical row of supporting members in vertically spaced relationship in each of said walls, each of said supporting members being spaced from the wall with its upper part and having the lower end integral with the wall, a wall member rigidly secured to and depending from each end of said bridging means, each of said wall members supporting a substantially U-shaped backing member having its legs secured to and extending from the side of said wall member facing away from the adjacent supporting wall, said depending wall member being insertable downwardly in the space between each of said supporting members in said adjacent supporting wall to a position in which its lower edge rests upon said lower part of the supporting member with said backing member in a position for backing said upper part of the supporting member.

For better elucidation of the invention as to its objects and advantages the invention will be described more in detail in the following, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a supporting assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along line A--A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in vertical section, showing a wall member or post and the bridging or shelf means in the assembly;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of a corner portion of the bridging or shelf means in accordance with the invention.

The bridging or shelf means 1 illustrated in the drawings is supported at the four corners by four uprights or posts 2. The posts are of L-shaped cross section and at least in one flange 5 of the L there is provided a vertical row of supporting members in the form of tongues 4 punched from the wall material of the uprights or posts. As shown in detail in FIG. 3 the tongues are vertical and 3,422,775 Patented Jan. 2l, 1969 ICC spaced from the inner surface of the flange 5, the lower parts 6 of the tongues being integral with said flange 5.

As shown more in detail in FIG. 4 the bridging or shelf means 1 is a metal sheet the edges of which are bent downwardly to make the metal sheet more rigid. Furthermore the downwardly bent or depending end flange 7 at each end of the metal sheet is rebent inwardly to form a horizontally extending flange portion 8 for stiflening the end flange 7. As will appear from FIG. 2 the U-channel edge portion formed by the depending end flange 7 and the rebent flange portion 8 has cut-away lower corner portions so that the flange 7 has end portions which are of lesser height than the central portion of the flange 7 and provided each with a horizontal edge 9 devoid of a flange. The shelf means is supported by the tongues 4 in that each depending flange 7 has each end portion thereof with the edge 9 inserted into the space 3 between a tongue 4 and the wall of the respective upright or post, in which portion the edge 9 is seated on the base of the tongue 4. To prevent the tongue being bent outwardly under the weight of the shelf means and `the articles carried thereby the flange 7 is provided on its inner side with a U-shaped backing member 10. This backing member 10 is adapted to receive the tongue and to back-support the tongue on the side thereof which faces away from the depending flange 7 on the inner side of the uprights or posts, as will appear more clearly from FIG. 2. Said U-shaped backing member thus prevents the sheet metal from bending outwardly.

As will be Seen from FIG. 1 this U-shaped backing member can be realized by punching out a wall portion of the flange 8 at the end of the shelf means. The supporting assembly according to the invention in a simple manner provides for convenient adjustability of the shelves Without setting aside the strength of the assembly.

While the invention has been described in an embodiment of the supporting assembly it is understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted to the very embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. Thus brackets can support the tongues shown in the drawing. Moreover, bridging means can be supported in these tongues between two uprights or posts and boards or other shelf means can be placed on these bridging means.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a supporting assembly the combination of supporting means including at least one pair of opposed and horizontally spaced substantially vertical walls, bridging means extending substantially horizontally between said walls, mounting means comprising at least one vertical row of supporting members in vertically spaced relationship in each of said walls, each of said supporting members being spaced from the supporting wall with its upper part and having the lower end integral with the wall, a wall member rigidly secured to and depending from each end of said bridging means, each of said wall members supporting a substantially U-shaped backing member having its legs secured to and extending from the side of said wall member facing away from the adjacent supporting wall for receiving the upper part of said supporting member, said depending wall member being insertable downwardly in the space between each of said supporting members and said supporting wall to a position in which its lower edge rests upon said lower part of the supporting member with said backing member in a position for backing said upper part of the supporting member.

2. A structure as in claim 1, in which each of said supporting members is in the form of a tongue punched from the wall material of said wall member.

3. A structure as in claim 1, in which each of said U-shaped backing members is punched from the wall material of said depending wall member, at a point spaced apart from the upper and lower ends thereof.

4. A structure as in claim 1, in which said supporting means include two opposed pairs of upright members, each of said upright members being L-shaped in cross section for supporting said bridging means at an end corner thereof, and in which the lower end portion of said supporting member is angularly bent out from said supporting wall to define a downwardly tapered pocket with said supporting wall.

5. A structure as in claim 1, in which said bridging means having four end corners and said vsupporting means comprising two opposed pairs of upright members, each of said upright members being L-shaped in cross section.

6. In a shelf assembly the combination of supporting means including at least one pair of opposed and horizontally spaced substantially vertical supporting walls, shelf means substantially horizontally bridging said supporting walls, mounting means comprise at least one vertical row of supporting members in vertically spaced relationship in each of said walls, each of said supporting members being spaced from the wall with its upper part and having the lower end integral with the wall, a wall member rigidly secured to and depending from each end of said shelf means, each of said wall members supporting a substantially U-shaped backing member having its legs secured to and extending from the side of said wall member facing away from the adjacent supporting wall for receiving the upper part of said supporting member, said depending wall member being insertable downwardly in the space between each of said supporting members in said adjacent supporting wall to a position in which its lower edge rests upon said lower end of the supporting member with said backing member in a position for backing said upper part of the supporting member.

7. In a shelf assembly the combination of supporting means including at least two opposed pairs of horizontally spaced substantially vertical posts of L-shaped cross section, a plurality of shelves which substatnially horizontally bridge said opposed pairs of posts, mounting means comprising at least one vertical row of supporting tongues in vertically spaced relationship in one of the longitudinal flanges of each of the posts, each of the tongues being punched from the wall material of said one flange, which tongue is bent out from the flange so that it is spaced from the wall with its upper part and has the lower end integral with the wall, a rigid end ange depending from each end of said shelf and provided slightly above its lower edge with a substantially U-shaped backing member having its legs secured to and extending from the inner side of said end flange facing away from the adjacent post ange for receiving the upper part of said tongue, said depending end flange being insertable downwardly in the space between each of said supporting tongues in said post flange to a position in which its lower edge rests upon said lower end of the tongue with said backing member in a position for backing said upper part of the tongue.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,930,978 10/1933 King 211-135 XR 1,937,935 12/1933 Zimmerman 211-148 XR 2,256,996 9/1941 Bales 211-135 XR 3,010,585 11/1961 Slikers 108-107 XR 2,528,910 11/1950 Poe 248-224 XR 3,142,386 7/1964 Skubic 211-148 3,168,277 2/1965 Stewart.

FOREIGN PATENTS 233,411 9/1959 Australia. 882,460 11/ 1919 Great Britain.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

